Pokemon hunt will soon be replaced by hunts for books

Inspired by the success of Pokemon Go, a Belgian primary school headmaster has developed an online game for people to search for books instead of cartoon monsters, attracting tens of thousands of players in weeks.

Aveline Gregoire, the headmaster, created the game that allows people to hunt for books instead of Pokémon and has attracted tens of thousands of players in weeks, according to reports.

Gregoire’s game isn’t as technologically sophisticated as Pokémon Go, though; instead of a mobile’s GPS and camera to catch cartoon monsters around the town, this game is facilitated through a Facebook group called “Chasseurs de Livres’” which means “Book hunters.”

“While I was arranging my library, I realized I didn’t have enough space for all my books. Having played Pokemon Go with my kids, I had the idea of releasing the books into nature,” Gregoire said.

How it works: Players take photos of the book and then have to hide them, after which they post on the group with some hints and clues to spur others to go hunt them down. And once you’re done with the book, you’re supposed to “release” it back into the wild.

The Detournay family from the town of Baudour in southern Belgium said the game was now part of their morning walks. They found one book and left four others for people to find. “My daughter said it’s like hunting for easter eggs, only with books,” Jessica Detournay said.

Though it was only set up a few weeks ago, more than 40,000 people are already signed up to Gregoire’s Facebook group.

According to Bloomberg, data released from mobile marketing companies all illustrate a shrinking Pokémon Go pool of users. It went from almost 45 million daily active users to 30 million in less than a month.This might be good news for Gregoire who is apparently considering turning his game into an app since it’s become a pretty big hit in Belgium.